Life of Secrets
by In The Beginning
Summary: Everyone constantly wondered about the way she acted, where she came from, and why she was such a loner... but Naomi Kimishima had always been good at keeping her secrets.
1. Exceptional

(We need more Naomi stories here, seriously!

We need a lot of things here-- for example, stories that center around Hans, and around Kenneth Blackwell, and not around Derek-- but we really need more Naomi stories.

Hence, the creation of this little story here.

Just as a note... in all my other stories, speaking in Japanese is indicated by a set of hyphens... but here, it's not. Because Japanese is the native language of Japan.

Anyone who says otherwise shall be shot. :D

On a side note, excrescence is my new favorite word. It means "tumor." :D

Naomi Kimishima © Nintendo

Dr. Arakawa © Me

The inspiration for the name © Hiromu Arakawa

Deftera © Nintendo)

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Life of Secrets

Chapter One- Exceptional

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Young surgeons were not allowed to operate alone, according to the Japanese medical system...

But twenty-seven-year-old Naomi Kimishima was an exception.

One look at her, and you could tell that the Japanese surgeon was a far cry from any definition of the word "normal." Part of her long, silvery hair, the same hue as her shimmering eyes, was twisted into an elegant knot on the side of her head, letting the rest hang down around her shoulders.

Even without her heels, Naomi towered over her fellow countrymen, standing just over six feet tall.

Whenever she had something she wanted to say in secret- for example, when she cursed at the sight of tumors, like the ones that her current patient had- she would say it in English, which was a language that few other Japanese citizens spoke.

And, she thought grimly as she took the laser into her thin hand, there was another secret about her...

One that she refused to share with anyone else.

Carefully, Naomi burned away the large tumors and the smaller ones that spawned from them. Noticing that the patient's vitals were lower than she cared for them to be, she quickly injected a syringe full of stabilizer into his side.

"This can't be _all_ that was wrong with him," she muttered as she placed the syringe back onto the surgical tray. "So what am I missing--"

Naomi's silvery eyes suddenly widened as four... _things,_ two blue and two red, appeared on the surface of the organ, skimming across the lung, occasionally leaving large black and white tumors in their wake.

"What on earth...?!"

Naomi decided that there would be a better time and place for that question; now was only the time to try and help the patient that was lying on the operating table.

Naomi quickly lasered away the stationary tumors before focusing her attention onto the moving ones.

"How am I supposed to stop something that moves so fast...?!" she murmured. "...maybe the laser will work on them..."

She eventually cursed; all that plan resulted in was several laser burns that leaked blood on the lung tissue.

"Scratch that idea, then," she growled, taking the antibiotic gel and carefully spilling it over the wounds. "Let's try something else then, shall we?"

Her patience grew thin as slicing, lasering, draining and using the ultrasound to locate a possible underlying cause all proved useless in helping her remove the moving growths. Sighing frustratedly, she injected more stabilizer into her patient before burning away at the new tumors that had formed--

The two blue excrescences bounced into each other...

Her silvery eyes widened in shock as four large, pale tumors appeared, seriously lowering the patient's vitals.

"What the...!?"

Getting over her surprise, Naomi quickly eliminated the growths, trying to eradicate them before they could spurt out mini-tumors...

Her reward for treating them was several more tumors, both black and white, spotting the organ with their abnormal hues.

Desperately, the silvery-haired surgeon burned them away, but not fast enough; a sea of small cysts began to engulf the organ. Naomi glanced up to see where the vitals were at-- only at thirty, and plummeting rapidly...

There was no other choice... she didn't want to risk anyone finding out, but if she didn't use it, he would certainly die...

The faint image of a magenta star flashed in Naomi's mind.

Naomi pointed the laser at the smaller tumors, glancing up at the monitor as the abnormal growths disintegrated...

Fifty-five, and rising.

Smiling grimly, Naomi removed all of the tumors as her most closely-guarded secret helped to stabilize her patient--

"Dr. Kimishima, please abort the procedure."

Startled, Naomi looked up towards the doorway; the head surgeon of her hospital, Dr. Arakawa, swiftly approached her, his dark eyes flashing as he looked over the rims of his glasses to his former resident.

"Sir, I know I can treat him," Naomi protested. "I just need a little more time to--"

"You've been in here for nearly three hours," Dr. Arakawa interjected, frowning slightly. "I will kindly ask you once more to abort the procedure."

"...yes, Dr. Arakawa."

Suppressing her anger, Naomi sutured the wound shut. After applying a liberal amount of antibiotic gel to the closed wound, she carefully laid a strip of bandage on top of the stitches.

"...how will I explain to his family that I couldn't--"

"I will explain on your behalf. If it has taken _you_ this long and he has not even been cured, then it cannot be a normal disease that he has. ...go home and rest, Naomi. Your shift ended almost an hour ago."

Sighing, Naomi Kimishima reluctantly left the operating room... but not before taking one final glance at the patient's vitals.

Eighty... and falling.

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(End chapter one.

Well now, poor Naomi has failed at an operation! Oh noes! What shall happen next?

Please review!)


	2. Runaway

(I accidentally set the status as "complete"... oh well. Surprise!

This computer is weird... this document is definitely _not_ centered on the screen anymore. Oh well...

I finally picked up my Wiimote for the first time in at least two weeks- _God_, you have no idea how good that felt. I didn't even operate as Derek-- I was afraid to do a mission where Greg or Sidney was there and then die from Kasal-induced head trauma.

Speaking of which, I should do a crack pairing including the Kasals. As if SidneyxNaomi wasn't crack enough...

While operating away with Naomi in her Delphi uniform, I came to three revelations...

One. Hans is hot. Seriously. Haaaaans. Or Przemyslaw with a dash through the l, if you're TCGeek. Either way. DAMN WHY ARE YOU SO HOT.

Second. You can definitely see Naomi's bra in her Delphi uniform. It's black, and shows in the v-cut in front. Now you _know_ a man designed that uniform... either a man, or a ho-bag.

Third... NaomixHans, right after SidneyxNaomi. I may very well right a oneshot... THAT WILL BE MY CRACKSHOT.

ENOUGH RAMBLE CHAPTER.

Naomi Kimishima © Nintendo

Everyone else © Me)

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Life of Secrets

Chapter Two- Runaway

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She angrily threw her clothes into a suitcase.

How _could_ they-- she had tried so hard to save his life... this was her thanks? This was her reward?!

Naomi ignored the pounding at the door... she was first trying to deal with thoughts pounding in her mind.

The Medical Board had seen the video of the operation she performed nearly two weeks ago. They did not notice her frantic attempts to remove the tumors from the patient...

No, as soon as they saw the patient's vitals spiking upward without cause, all of Naomi's good intentions were immediately banished from the Medical Board's mind.

They could _never_ allow a witch to operate in their country...

Now, all the media mongrels were pounding at her door, trying to hear the story of the infamous Devil Doctor.

She had to sit on it before it would close, but eventually Naomi succeeded in zipping her suitcase shut. Quickly, she dragged the heavy bag with her to the back door...

_Thank God I bought locks for the gates,_ she smiled grimly as she slipped into the backyard. _I just hope he's here..._

Lucky for her, her mentor, Dr. Arakawa, was parked in the alley; Naomi threw her trunk into the backseat before climbing in, sitting alongside her heavy luggage.

"You said you're going to Okinawa International Airport, right, Naomi?"

"Yes... thank you again, Dr. Arakawa."

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They were nearly at the airport when it finally dawned on Naomi to call her parents... possibly for the last time.

Quickly, she pulled out her cell phone, dialing her parents' number before putting the device to her ear.

"...Father? It's me, Naomi. ...no, everything's... everything's fine. How about with you and Mother?"

A small smile began to creep to her face as she heard his answer.

"I'm not at all surprised."

Another slight pause.

"Actually... I'm calling to let you know that... I'm moving."

Naomi began to fidget.

"No, I'm mot quite sure where yet... I have an idea, though," she lied. "But I'll call you as soon as I get settled in. Okay?"

Despite the uneasy feeling she had from lying to her father, Naomi couldn't help but begin to smile.

"I love you too, Father. Goodbye."

She hung up.

"So tell me, Naomi... where are you flying to?"

Naomi sighed as the car rolled to a stop in front of the doors to the airport.

"America... my plane lands in California... I want to say Angeles Bay, but I might be wrong."

As the former surgeon dragged her suitcase out of the back of the car, Dr. Arakawa hastily scribbled onto a piece of paper lying on the front passenger seat. When Naomi got her luggage down onto solid pavement, he handed her the paper, which had a few characters scrawled on it.

"You go there, and you meet the man who lives there-- he is white, with blonde hair. Tell him that I sent you, on behalf of Delphi," he instructed.

"Delphi...?"

"Yes-- do not worry. You will be working in a hospital again in no time at all. I promise you."

Naomi glanced skeptically at her mentor, who looked back up at her with dark eyes.

"...why would you do all this for a devil?"

The only reply she got was a brief smirk before Dr. Arakawa took off.

"Oh, what a wonderful answer..."

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"Excuse me... can I please have some ginger ale?"

"Of course, ma'am. Just a minute; I'll get it for you now."

Naomi had never been very good with flying. Normally, she could tolerate it well enough...

But this time, she had so much on her mind, it was making her slightly nauseous.

She glanced down at the paper, clutched tightly in her thin hands.

_...well, it couldn't hurt to check it out, could it? Dr. Arakawa is a reasonable man... and after all, I don't really have anything else to lose._

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(End chapter two.

Except your soul, Naomi. You always have your soul.

Next chapter has Hans. HAAAANS. God he's adorable. HANS WHY MUST YOU BE SO HOT. Seriously.

...Sidney and Greg still win.

Please review!)


	3. Restart

(It took me until Wednesday to realize that I picked a really bad time to start a story-- Thanksgiving and New Blood probably sucked everyone away. Oh well, live and learn, eh?

Speaking of New Blood... initially, I wasn't so crazy about it. But after seeing _them_ in it and after my dad let me turn the voices back on... it's not bad, really.

But I have to play Second Opinion again... Markus and Valerie are trying to replace Sidney, Greg, Naomi and Hans in my heart.

And Cardia does _not _replace Savato. You've got to be out of your damn mind.

Also, really quick-- what the hell is Caduceus doing in MARYLAND. NO. Caduceus is in California. Forever. End of discussion. :D

So, let's start the next chapter, which makes no sense whatsoever!

Naomi, Hans © Nintendo

The name Hans © the person Picup stole it from

Cabbie © Me

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Life of Secrets

Chapter Three- Restart

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Naomi finally left Angeles Bay International Airport at nine twenty-three in the morning.

She never realized that it was possible to be as tired as she was now; the Japanese woman slowly dragged her luggage over to one of several parked cabs, tossing her suitcase into the trunk before getting into the backseat.

"Where you going to, miss?" the cabbie asked.

It took Naomi a few seconds to process what was being said to her.

"...oh... uh... I need to get to... fifteen thirty-one Santa Monica Avenue...? Let me check... yeah, fifteen thirty-one Santa Monica Avenue, in... Santa Balboa."

The cab drove off. Naomi slowly closed her eyes, trying to catch just a bit of rest.

"You're not from America, are you? You've got a little bit of an accent..."

"Mm... no, I'm not. I'm from Okinawa... I'm here for... business."

"Oh, so you're Japanese? Is this your first time to America?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, then, welcome to America, miss."

"...thank you," Naomi smiled briefly.

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Naomi was abruptly awoken by the cab jolting to a stop.

"You alright? Sorry about that..."

"Oh, it's alright," Naomi gasped slightly, carefully unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. "How much do I have to pay you...?"

"Forty dollars and seventy cents, ma'am."

Naomi reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet--

"...oh,_ shit._"

Naomi groaned as she pulled out a few small bills...

"I've only got about seven dollars in yen..."

"Don't you have a credit card? The fare's high enough, I'd be able to take it..."

"No, I--"

Naomi felt a hand tap her shoulder. She turned her head--

A tall man, just two or so inches shorter than Naomi, held out a fifty dollar bill to the Japanese woman. His semi-long blonde hair fell around his pale face, and he stared at Naomi with frosty blue eyes.

"Pay him," he instructed, pressing the bill into Naomi's hand. "Where's your luggage?"

"U-uh... i-it's in the trunk," Naomi stammered, startled by the man's sudden appearance. "Th-thank you..."

As the man went to take the heavy suitcase from the trunk of the car, Naomi hesitantly handed the cabbie the fifty dollar bill. He took it, and made some comment about how there were good Samaritans everywhere these days before taking off.

"Why did you do that for me?" Naomi asked the blonde man, who took Naomi's suitcase with him over to the only home with the open front door.

"Dr. Arakawa sent you, didn't he?" the man replied as the Japanese woman followed him. "On behalf of Delphi. I knew you were coming; though I must admit, I didn't expect you to be here so soon."

_You go there, and you meet the man who lives there-- he is white, with blonde hair. Tell him that I sent you, on behalf of Delphi..._

Naomi mentally cursed herself for forgetting her mentor's words.

"Well, what else did he tell you?" Naomi asked, out of a morbid curiosity.

"Enough for me to get a good idea of your situation... Miss Devil Doctor."

Naomi scowled.

"Well, if he told you _that_ name, then he probably told you my _real_ name-- didn't he, Mr...?"

The man smirked, a low chuckle escaping his lips.

"Save the titles for the professors and the other doctors," he spoke, dropping Naomi's suitcase in the immaculate living room. "Hans will be just fine."

"_Hans?_" Naomi raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It's a _hell_ of a lot easier to say and spell than my real name. ...you're probably tired. Get some rest; I'm going to show you where you'll be working after you sign your first contract later... Dr. Kimishima."

Naomi sighed before tiredly collapsing on the couch, closing her eyes.

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"You've got to be _kidding_ me."

Naomi froze as she saw the hidden research facilities of Eidoth Pharmaceuticals.

"I can't believe I agreed to work in a place that creates diseases-- that creates them when they should be--"

Hans smirked faintly at Naomi's somewhat typical reaction. He idly fixed his narrow black tie, adjusting it until the knot was firmly against his neck.

"You won't be working in this building unless there's an emergency," he informed, his voice low and cool. "Delphi has plenty of researchers working for its cause... _you_ will be operating at Old Brooks Hospital, about thirty miles north of here. Your job will be to make sure that, should anything unexpected happen to our researchers or subjects that requires surgical intervention... that they will come back to work, good as new."

"So that you can continue your dirty work?"

"Come now, Dr. Kimishima... I told you quite clearly what to expect, didn't I? And remember... nobody forced you to sign the first contract."

A small, dark chuckle escaped his lips.

"Now, come with me..."

With great reluctance, Naomi followed the Delphi member...

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"...why should I sign this one?"

The pen in Naomi's hand froze just above the signature line.

"The first contract just said that I would help your organization," she began, her silver eyes narrowing as she looked up at Hans' seemingly disinterested face. "If I don't sign this one, then I agree to no tasks. So it would be as if I never signed the first one, wouldn't it?"

A faint smirk played at the black-clad man's pale lips as he slowly walked towards the window, staring at the clouds, which were dyed a vivid shade of lavender by the setting sun's rays. His reflection on the semi-clean pane of glass failed to capture the slightly malicious glimmer in his icy blue eyes.

"That is partially true; by not signing that contract, you do not agree to_ work_ for Delphi," Hans agreed, idly watching a few gulls fly off into the distance. "However, by signing the _first_ contract, you _did_ agree to aid us in our cause."

"And how would _that_ happen, if I'm not researching or taking care of your mistakes?"

Hans turned to face Naomi...

The Japanese woman froze at the sight of the acrimonious glint in Hans' frosty eyes.

"Our research is far from over... we still have yet to obtain the perfect death... and we have a relatively severe shortage of test subjects," he began, the amused tone of his low voice only helping to sharpen his words. "I'm quite sure that there are several researchers who are just _dying_ to know how GUILT acts in a person with powers such as yours..."

Naomi's hand flew to her heart, almost as if she expected him to come at her with a scalpel, ready to turn her into a number, into research data...

_...but what if I--_

"'But what if I run away and go into hiding,' right?" Hans smirked, watching Naomi's silvery eyes widen in surprise. "What good would that do for you? Delphi's influence is greater than you think... and even if nobody could find you, where would you work? No hospital is going to take in a devil doctor who was expelled from her home country, with nothing to her name but seven dollars in a foreign currency-- not even a medical license to call her own."

Almost as soon as Hans finished speaking, he approached a file cabinet, opening it and pulling out a manila envelope.

"However..."

His attenuated fingers carefully opened the envelope in full view of the extremely curious- and still somewhat fearful- Naomi Kimishima, who waited nervously for the Delphi agent's next words.

"...what is that?" she finally asked. Hans shot her a sideway glance before pulling out the papers inside.

"...however, if you sign the contract... this is who you would become," he spoke, glancing down at the papers in his hand. "Nozomi Weaver-- born on the eleventh of October in the year nineteen eighty-nine in Okinawa. Volunteered to participate in the exchange program with St. Francis Hospital in Santa Balboa for the next five years..."

Naomi's silvery eyes widened as Hans set the papers in front of her.

"We have the power to give you a new life, if you just sign... Dr. Weaver."

Naomi bit her lip, thinking...

"...only on one condition."

"Name it, and we'll see what can be done."

She looked up at Hans, her steely eyes showing her inability to compromise.

"All the patients that you send me... they need to be able to survive the operation. I will not perform any sacrificial operations."

Hans couldn't help but smirk as he took back the contract, taking out his pen and crossing out a sentence, rewriting it before handing the paper back to Naomi.

She glanced at the correction...

_Good risk patients only._

As satisfied as she could be with the given situation, she finally signed it...

...as Dr. Nozomi Weaver.

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(End chapter three.

So, Naomi's signed her soul over to the devil. Yay! ...wait, yay?

I personally love Hans. I mean, like, really. Not in the same way that I love Sidney, but... oh my. -swoon-

Speaking of which, I am still extremely disappointed in the lack of Naomi, Hans, and Kasals in New Blood. But I guess that's what Second Opinion is for, right?

Please review!)


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